Heart of Thorns
by 21wings.of.heaven
Summary: A continuation from The Avengers, Loki is locked away in the cells of Asgard. However, a mysterious maiden breaks him out. Who is she? Why is she helping him? Loki needs to find out, before The Avengers or the Chitauri find him. Nothing goes as expected however - there is something enchanting about her... and it's safe to say nothing will be the same. OOC for some characters
1. Chapter 1

Scene 1: Asgard  
_Night, obviously most of the gods are asleep. Heimdall stands guard, somehow blind to the faint light glowing on the other side of the city. A light welcoming a visitor to the still horizon. A woman walks down the street, in a powder blue dress with long sleeves, its silk with elegant gold trim. Her hair is black as soot and her eyes are a powerful green._  
There was no sound in the air as she walked towards the palace. There were no guards this far from the palace, but it would come soon enough. Fifty guards, nearly all immortal, the others were the ones to be careful with. There was also the vault, the locks and the reason she was there, in the middle of the night. She had with her only a pouch of sleeping potion, but unlike most, she had a plan.  
A few moments later and she stood before the grand entrance, only instead of walking through she turned around the corner and waited. She glanced at a small timekeeper in one of the building windows. Three… two… one… and the door opened. She quickly slipped past a guard leaving to make his occasional round outside the palace walls and crept in just before the door closed behind her.  
The halls were dark for a moment but as her eyes adjusted the outline of three guards in the distance appeared. The woman lay low, watching them, and as she approached she counted under her breath. Ten… nine… eight… the men started walking towards her. Seven… six… five… they were within ten feet, if they came much closer they would see her. Four… three… two… one!  
_CRASH!  
_"What is that?" The man closest to her cried as he turned around the other way. The others stared behind them in shock. The group was then running down the hall. The woman smiled. She knew now it was exactly 12:03. A lamp exactly one hundred yards away was loose at the hinges and threatening to drop but fortunately no one noticed except her. She knew the exact moment it would fall for months.  
It had to be done quickly if she were to have time to complete both parts of her task. First was the vault, where getting inside was not the problem but dealing with the creature that protected it was another thing entirely. The first was destroyed on Earth by Thor, but a second, just as powerful, just as deadly took its place. It did not take long for her to reach it; the immortals do not protect something that is already secured. She grabbed the handles, spoke a silent prayer, and opened the door. The stairs were no challenge; she passed by in utter silence, not even breathing. At the end she froze. On either side of her were weapons from other worlds, many people would kill to obtain but there was only one she was looking for. Walking quickly, she noticed a blue glow at the far end of the chamber. She crept up, and she saw it. The Golden Scepter with the power orb, tied to the tesseract, and sole weapon of Loki, god of Lies and Mischief. She stood before it and passed her hand in front of its dim shine. She bit her lip, looking at the dark wall ahead of her, the creature's cage. She faced her open palm at the wall as her other hand reached towards the weapon. She slowly inhaled and picked up the scepter. Simultaneously the wall began to dissolve and she focused her energy. Before the creature could be freed and soon it was trapped. She waited. Nothing. _Boom!_ Coming from behind the wall. _Boom!_ Again. Her eyes widened in fear as she realized: it was trying to get out. She wasted no time as she sprinted out of the chamber and slammed the door behind her. She sealed it. _Boom. Boom. BOOM!_ And the sound of cracking started, as she heard the sound of the wall falling away. She didn't need to be told twice, and soon she was gone. She was running out of time. She had to finish it.  
She passed quickly through another hallway towards the palace dungeons. Several turns and doorways later she reached a low ceilinged room lit by torches. Two guards stood watch by a rusty gate. The woman frowned, it would be tricky. She kneeled by the far wall and pulled down her sleeve. Placing her right hand on the face of the wall she focused her energy and ice began to form. Her limb grew cold as the entire wall froze and the plaque passed over the ceiling and reached the guards. At first just their feet, then their legs and soon their entire bodies were covered, their essences frozen solid.  
It was so fast and silent the guards did not even notice. She stood up, made sure they were dead, took the keys from their sides and unlocked the gate.  
She passed quickly through the tunnel, stopping only when she reached a small room where guards take breaks in-between their rounds. On a table there rested a mug half filled with water. She picked up the glass and carefully poured in the powder she had brought with her. She swirled the concoction and placed it back before continuing. The way grew darker but the light from the scepter helped her push on. Soon, there was a door. She suddenly felt numb, she had seen all that would happen up to here, she had no idea what to expect. But odds were, she was not going to leave that room alive.  
She sighed and opened the door.

She entered with silence, placing the scepter just out of sight by the door and stopped again. Before her, a large cage in the center of the room stood several feet short of the high ceiling, with steel bars and chains securing it to the ground. At two sides of the circular room against the walls rested two scepters of ancient magic with the exact purpose of preventing prisoners from using their magic. The scene was quite menacing but not as terrifying as the prisoner himself.  
Loki stood in the middle of the cage, his back to her. She had no doubt in her mind that he knew he was there, but he was one for dramatics, so she didn't say anything. She took a couple more steps forward, to which he turned around. He looked at her in fake shock for a moment.  
"Quite impressive, not many people can sneak up on me."  
"I didn't."  
"No," He smiled, "no, I suppose not." His smile faded quickly. "Why are you here?"  
"That depends."  
"Your motivation as to entering this chamber in the middle of the night, unannounced, depends?"  
"Yes."  
He glared at her, suspicious. "Do you wish to be free?"  
"Is that a question?"  
"Do you?"  
"What do you think?"  
"I assume you do."  
Loki walked to the edge of the cage closest to her, staring. "But _why_," he hissed, "are _you_ here? Another one of my father's interrogators, I presume. Meant to appeal to my better nature? To convince me to give up, to abandon my purpose?"  
"No. The truth is your father does not even know I am here."  
"Then who sent you?"  
"No one. I let myself in."  
Loki chuckled darkly.  
"Are you telling me, you arrived into Asgard without Heimdall seeing you, passed the guards undetected, stole the keys to my little cage and came here of your own choice?"  
"Yes."  
Loki started laughing again, but he stopped when he looked at her face. She was dead serious.  
"You must be desperate, to risk so much just to see me."  
"You can say that."  
"So why, may I ask, did you come here?"  
She stepped closer to the cage, gripped the keys in her hand and threw them through the bars.  
"To give you a choice."  
_BOOM!  
_She whipped around and stared at the doorway.  
_BOOM!  
_The key turned in the lock and the cage opened.  
_BOOM!  
_"You seemed to have caused quite a commotion, haven't you?"  
"No more than usual." She replied, having recovered. She walked to the door and picked up the scepter and held it out to him. "You will need this."  
He took the weapon from her and eyed her suspiciously. She turned away and began walking towards the door again.  
_BOOM!_  
And suddenly her back was to the wall and the scepter's blade was to her neck.  
"Why are you doing this?"  
"Does it matter?"  
"It does to me." The blade pressed against her skin. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."  
"You would like that wouldn't you?"  
The blade dug deeper, drawing blood. "I know what you are. I know of your parentage, and why you are here." He stared at her, the blade's grip lessened. "That does not mater, what matters is that you are still needed in this story. You still have a purpose."  
He shook his head at her very slowly.  
"You'll have to do better than that."  
"You do not believe me?"  
"Bitch, please."  
"Ooh, it hurts you, not being able to intimidate me."  
He warningly deepens the blade into her neck. "You are a master of magic, are you not?"  
_BOOM!_ "Well, I have some abilities of my own. I knew you would fail in your attempt to destroy the Earth before you had even begun. You underestimated their resilience."  
Loki pressed the base of the scepter against her throat and smiled savagely as she cried out.  
"You are trying my patience."  
She tried to speak but she could hardly breathe. He released the scepter and returned the blade.  
"I had a vision. A vision of you freed, on Earth. You still have a purpose there, Loki. There is something you need to do. I have known of this for years, I have waited for this day to come, because there is a destiny for you yet."  
"Why should I believe anything you say?"  
"Because much unlike you," she stared right into his eyes, "I am a terrible liar."  
Loki looked down, almost in humility. She was still panting heavily from being choked. He eventually looked up at her again.  
"Who are you?"  
"Sigyn. I was once of Asgard, then like you, I was abandoned. I have not been in this city for what feels like a lifetime. You can understand that, can't you?"  
_BOOM!  
_He stared at her another moment, then released her. "Thank you."  
_BOOM!_  
"They seem to have sent the entire army after you."  
_BOOM!  
_"No, that would be the Destroyer." She said as she opened the door and entered the tunnels. Loki followed soon after.  
"Why would they send the Destroyer after _you_? Seems bit of a waste."  
"Fortunately for me, it is not after me." _BOOM! _She started picking up the pace. "I had the honor of entering the weapons vault to get your scepter." _BOOM! _They left the tunnels and were running through the halls. But Loki grabbed her arm.  
"The _weapons vault_?"  
"Yes…" She replied, looking confused.  
_BOOM!  
_"You idiot! Do you have any idea what you have done!?"  
_BOOM!  
_"Released the destroyer, alerted the palace guards, Thor, Odin and the warriors of my elicit entrance and giving us approximately twelve minutes to reach the secret passage before we are captured."  
_BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! SMASH!  
_And the wall behind them shattered to pieces. They ducked just before the fire struck where they were only two seconds before. Loki turned and shot a beam at the monster to no effect and it raced after them – the walls set afire and began to crumble. They could barely keep out of range as another fire lit up in front of them. They turned down another corridor and desperately changed direction to another hall and stopped. Silence.  
"We must hurry." Sigyn urged. They followed the darkened passageway, reaching a sharp corner - the moment they reached the turn Loki screamed in pain and collapsed. Sigyn cried out and kneeled at his side looking up to see an archer grinning savagely. "_Not today_." And a small blade appeared in her hand and flew into the air, slicing through the archer's heart as she tried to help Loki onto his feet.  
"The enchantment. I cannot use my magic."  
"Don't speak." There was another cry, a screech and Sigyn was knocked back by a beam of fire. The Destroyer had caught up with them. It blocked the passage they had come from, and over the archer's body a dozen soldiers stood with their spears at the ready. "Damn."  
"Thief. Step away from the scepter and kneel, or we will have to use force. Choose wisely."  
Loki lay five feet from her, her back against the wall, both the soldiers and the Destroyer were twenty five feet away from both of them. She looked at Loki, then to the left, the right. She decided.  
"Alright, alright." She raised her hands, the soldiers approached her and when they were within reach, she let them have it. Her left hand pressed the wall and her right hand pointed towards the Destroyer. Ice shot at the Destroyer before it would strike and ice travelled along the floor towards the soldiers and rising up to seal a wall of ice between them they cried out, attaching the frost with their spears to no avail. And then there was quiet. Loki stared wide eyed at Sigyn, she tilted her head at him; her once green eyes were blood red and her skin was blue. He sat up and her appearance shifted back to its original form.  
"You're…"  
"A frost giant, yes." She said, picking up his scepter. "Yes I am." She pointed it to the corner and fired a hole in it. She turned to him. He glared at her. "We don't have much time."  
Loki paused a moment, unsure, before slowly getting to his feet, struggling at first and followed her, using his scepter as support. The poison was having him weak; unable to use his magic within the confines of the palace he had, at best, ten minutes. They stumbled through a servant door in the palace, Sigyn leading the way. _One hundred feet, one hundred more feet_.  
Loki almost fell but Sigyn kept him going. They were almost there, just a bit more, the passageway was almost within arm's reach-  
"STOP!" A voice boomed as lightning flashed across the sky. They both turned. Loki sneered as Thor, his adoptive brother leapt from the high towers and landed in front of them. "Take one step further and I will put you down."  
"Go ahead then," Loki said, stepping towards him, "try it."  
"Brother, you are wounded."  
"I AM A GOD! Gods are NEVER wounded!"  
"I do not wish to hurt you brother, but you are giving me no choice."  
"Why?" Loki laughed. "Not enough of a man to leave your little toy hammer alone?"  
"Toy?" Thor growled. "TOY?!" He thrust his hammer into the air, lightning coming towards him and then forced upon them. Loki smiled, only to be pulled back by Sigyn, forcing a shield of ice around them. And the lightning struck. The explosion rocked Thor back as shrapnel flew into the air in all directions and the light erupted throughout the entire city. The god of thunder rose quickly to his feet and when the light died away Loki and Sigyn were gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Scene 2: Location Unknown  
_A small, detached section of a long destroyed world floating freely in space, the b__ï__frost destroyed. The ground is rubble and the sky royal blue. A mostly complete ruin of a castle rests not too far away._  
They collapsed in a heap in an alien realm. Loki shot up.  
"How DARE YOU!" He fell back down in a rage. "You DO NOT INTERFERE…" he was short of breath, "with MY battles! It was mine to fight!" Sigyn gave him a disappointed look before starting to rummage through the debris. "I do not need a WOMAN to ASSIST me!"  
"If this woman did not assist you, you would be dead. You have been infected by the poison of the serpent of Niflheim; you are not a god but a man. And if you don't shut up about it you will be a dead man." She said as she returned and kneeled beside him. Loki shifted away, startled. "Hold still, I'm trying to help you."  
"Do I look like I need help?" He hissed.  
"Yes, you do."  
They stared at each other for a moment; he looked down at the wound in his side. "Please." She whispered. Loki looked away from her. She gave him a reassuring smile before saying, "This will sting."  
Her hand was then placed over the wound. Sigyn forced her energy into her hand, turning the blood to ice, Loki winced as she held a small stone bowl just below the opening, were the purple toxin began to flow. Eventually the pain ceased and Loki looked at the bowl in amazement. Sigyn placed the poison to one side before placing her hand once more on the wound. Ice formed again and soon cracked away revealing the injury completely healed. "That wasn't so bad now was it?"  
Loki looked at her at a pass and tried to get back on his feet. It was a struggle but all his efforts just barely got him to sit upright. "The poison is no longer in your veins but it will take a while for the effects to wear off."  
She picked up his scepter and handed it to him; he used it to slowly return to his feet. She motioned to the nearby ruin. "You will need rest, come let me hel-" He glared at her menacingly. "_Escort _you…"  
Sigyn began the journey towards the castle's crumbling walls – Loki followed after her, refusing any assistance from her.  
"You _live _in this degradation?"  
"Yes."  
Loki gave her a disgusted look. "It was either here or Earth."  
He seemed to consider it a moment, and then smirked. They eventually came to an empty gallery where Loki sat down with his back against a broken stone table, tilted on one side at the absence of two of the legs.  
"Where is this place?"  
Sigyn looked at him for a second, and smiled.  
"Nidaveller. Some decades ago, the Frost Giants attacked a city on the edge of its boundaries. The damage tore it loose, spiraling aimlessly through the vast uncharted space. Though the secret passages remained."  
"You know of the passages."  
"How else could we have come here? There is no bïfrost."  
Loki thought for a moment, Sigyn walked to the opposite side of the room.  
"And _how_, exactly, would a woman come across this… ruin?"  
"Almost by accident." She said, pacing. "I searched the nine realms for a place not even Heimdall would look."  
"And here we are." Loki sneered.  
"You say that so negatively!"  
Loki scowled. Sigyn ignored it and closed her eyes. "I do not believe that is an appropriate place for you to have a lie down."  
"You speak as if you have a better idea."  
"I do." She eyed him compassionately. "I prepared a more suitable space upstairs." She glided towards a dusty staircase, turning to him as she reached the first step. "If you would just come with me."  
Loki stared at her, suspicion colored every feature of his face; he did not trust this woman. There was no reason to; no one had ever helped him with anything before. She clearly wanted something from him, and he needed to find out what before she can get a hold of it. Though his mind was full of doubt he rose and joined her at the step. He bored into her face, but no shadow of deceit was there, so he began the journey upward. The path was long and dark. Every time his staff hit the floor the sound erupted and almost deafened his ears, and sure as the sun rises, Sigyn followed silently behind him. Loki was skeptical, he had to get rid of her as soon as possible, but he was still too weak. Once he recovered he would be able to-  
His staff gave way under him, his legs collapsing under his weight and he slipped backwards - _CLASH! _His staff fell to the floor and… nothing. Loki was suddenly still. Was some invisible force holding him there? No, he turned his head around to see Sigyn holding him in place! She slowly pushed him into a full standing position, but with her hand at his back, she was all that was keeping him steady. She brought herself to his left, her hands on his arms. Loki glared at her. She would let him go – he was sure of it. There was no reason she would help him. She was waiting for him to be without his weapon, so she could destroy him in his deteriorated state. She wanted his power… that was it! It had to be. But as he thought this, Sigyn leaned down and while still holding him up, retrieved his staff and placed it into his right hand. She took his other arm and carefully lifted it over her head and placed it on her shoulders so she could help him up the staircase. He stared at her, shocked. He wanted to say something, but he could not think of the words; Sigyn seemed to understand this and without uttering a word she walked him to the chambers.

They came to a large room that had to belong to a lord. The walls were painted gold; the floor carpeted red and half concealed by shear blue curtains, a balcony that gave a view of the entire lost world. Sigyn lay Loki to rest in a master bed that was set in the middle of the room. The royal blue sheets gave the impression of a majestic sea, with fish of gold-lined pillows and a horizon made of an eloquent oak headboard. Sigyn placed Loki's staff on a small table next to him and performed a small bow.  
"It should be acceptable. It is not must but it has as that you require until you gain your strength back." Loki didn't even acknowledge this. His mind was in another place, a place full of confusion and doubt.

Sigyn accepted his vacant look with a small smile. "I will assume you will not object while I excuse myself. I expect you will have quite the appetite by the time you have recuperated. I shall do find something for you." She gave another short bow and drifted from the chamber.

Scene 3: Earth  
_Nick Fury stands defiantly in front of the screens, the council was giving him another lecture on all the damage in New York. Director Fury was sick of hearing it. He grumbled his usual replies at the darkened faces of the council, watching the clock at the side of the room with his one good eye.  
_There was a sudden ringing from the radio he kept in his pocket.  
"What?"  
"Director Fury, we have a reading on the scanner."  
Fury turned away from the screens. "Then deal with it."  
"THE scanner, sir."  
"Where?"  
"Oh GOD…."  
"WHERE?"  
"Here!"  
Fury left the room, leaving the council in a daze. He raced to the airship's control center.  
"Agent Hill!" Fury screamed. The agent was already at his side. "What is going on?"  
"Sir, we picked up a reading on the scanner, something is coming in fast!"  
Fury looked out the windows. It was a clear sky, the sun was high over the horizon.  
"How much time do we have?"  
"Anywhere between three minutes and thirty seconds!"  
_CRASH!- BOOM!_  
"What the fuck is that?  
Dozens of agents, all completely focused on their jobs, simultaneously stopped; and stared out the window. An enormous black cloud suddenly appeared over the sun moving like an epidemic. And dry lightning flashed through the sky! – _BOOM!_  
The entire airship rocked sideways and the lights flickered, as the agents were slammed against the wall like bugs the light bulbs fried. "SHIT!" _BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_ Three more strikes of lightning. The cracks made the entire airship shake – but soon all was still.  
Director Fury slowly stood up. You could have heard a pin drop as the computer screens flickered. Agent Hill kneeled cautiously by the doorway. "What the hell-"  
_**BOOM!  
**_An epic crash collided, the sound of screeching metal and torn armor echoed through the corridors and then, silence. The essence of death rang in the insufferable quiet; Director Fury takes a cautious step towards the hull. "Director! Wait! We must call reinforcements."  
"That is enough Agent Hill." Fury declared before starting to make his way past the monitors, around the conference center and down the hall. The large corridors, once filled with the humming of machines and the buzz of people working like bees in the hive, were abandoned – longing for action. The steel work of the airship reflected in the interior, the ice blue plates on the floor and the smooth smoke grey metal that formed the walls and ceiling. The sound of the crash still haunted the air, echoing against the cold steel so softly… all Fury could hear was his boots banging against the floor and the sound of his own steady breathing.

He walked further into the heart of the craft as the last of the echo died away – towards the source of the sound. Fury turned towards the internal aircraft hangar; with the shields down, that was the easiest way to get into the ship. He took his time, stopping at the end of a short walkway facing a large curved door with a glowing blue computer panel at shoulder height just to the right of the door's outer frame. He paused for a moment, staring at the flickering screen. There was a distant sound of metal screeching together behind the door – Fury's eyes shot up. There it was again, the sound continued and quickly stopped. No further movement. He looked at the screen once more, slowly raising his right hand and pressing it on the glowing scanner. Waiting patiently, the computer scanned his palm print and eventually the crude words ACCESS ACCEPTED: DIRECTOR FURY appeared on the screen in green letters. The door whirred, making a distinct click of the lock and the door slid open. Fury cautiously stepped inside.

The hangar was like that of any typical air base. A high ceiling loomed over his head supported by massive steel beams. Numerous fixed-wing aircraft were lined in long rows, obsessively placed in rows by model. Twenty-five fighter jets, ten stealth planes and two heli-carriers, along with multiple aircraft even the Air Force didn't know about.  
Fury stopped in the very center of the massive building. He scanned, each craft tied down with absolute care. There was not a single thing out of place – the sudden collision didn't touch it. Fury, satisfied turned towards the open entryway to return to the airship's control room.  
_**BANG.**__  
_Fury whipped around. Gun out. Waiting… for nothing. He took a step forward. Across the floor, opposite the door in which Fury entered was the large, fifty feet high main-cargo door. It operated by internal control only – and it was seven inch steel. No one could get through without-  
_**BOOM-CRACK- **_a sudden strike of thunder was rang outside, Fury turned his head and there was light. Bright light. No noise. Flashes. Lighting. Thunder – the cargo door burst open! Fury collapsed to the ground, the light blinding him! He emptied his gun into the vortex to no avail! Lightning tore through the hangar sending sparks flying in an epic display. More lightning, but less frequent. Less intense. The light faded slowly to reveal a large hole in the wall. Fury looked up in time to see a single figure walking towards him. It was a man! He was tall, with large muscles and shoulder length blond hair. He wore silver and grey armor and had a red cape flowing behind him. He stopped his approach as Fury returned to his feet.  
"Fury." The intruder addressed him, nodding his head respectfully.  
"Thor." Director Fury said in return.  
"We have a problem."


	3. Chapter 3

Scene 4: Earth  
_Once more in the airship, Fury is none too impressed of Thor's surprise visit but he seems to have shown up with a serious matter. He stands in a smaller part of the airship – a conference room for unofficial business. There lies a simple rectangle table in the middle of the room with four chairs around it. Fury stares angrily at Thor from across the table, Agent Hill – standing awkwardly between them. The only door into the room remains locked and the demi-god fidgets impatiently. He needs to talk to Fury as soon as possible._

"So you're here," Fury hissed, "because we apparently have a serious impending threat that we don't even know about."  
"Yes."  
"You come to our planet, damage OUR airship and WE have the problem?"  
"Please," Thor exclaimed, "I do not have much time. Your planet is on more danger than it realizes. I could not afford formalities."  
Fury sighed. "Well, if you had the nerve to show up here, it can't be good."  
"Is it one of the other planets?" Agent Hill asked.  
"No."  
"The tesseract?"  
"No."  
"The chitari?"  
"Even worse."  
"What the hell can be worse than that?" Asked Fury.  
"Loki."  
Fury and Hill looked at each other.  
"LOKI." Hill stated. "Isn't he imprisoned on Asgard?"  
"Was. He has escaped."  
"What do you mean escaped?"  
Thor looked away, almost embarrassed. "Last night Loki was freed from his cell. We cannot locate him, with his magic not even Heimdall can find him. I came here to tell you that he may have returned to Earth."  
Agent Hill didn't hesitate. Even before Fury could tell her, she was already out the door.  
The director kept his eyes on Thor.  
"You're going to have to give me the whole story."  
"What story? I told you what you must know."  
"You told me what happened. I need details. You assured us that your brother would not be able to escape and now you tell us that HE is on the loose and YOU don't know where he is."  
"We do not have time!"  
"I DON"T CARE!" Fury exclaimed. "If there is a threat, you need to tell us EVERYTHING."  
"We cannot remain here and argue. Loki has been free for twelve of your hours, there is no telling what he may be plotting!"  
"What's the problem in here?"  
Thor and Fury turned. The 'locked' door was wide open and a familiar figure stood in the doorway. Fury relaxed, realizing who it was but Thor was petrified.  
"Son of Coul?" Thor stuttered as Agent Phil Coulson of SHEILD walked into the room. "You are meant to be dead."  
"Yes, so I've heard." He stood in front of the demi-god, who placed a hand on his shoulder.  
"This is impossible, how can you be here?"  
"Your guess is as good as mine." Phil replied. They both burst into laughter.  
"It is good it see you again, friend."  
"It's good to be back."

"To be honest," Fury stepped in, "we would have tried to contact you if you hadn't shown up. As you can tell, we've been having our own… unusual circumstances." He motioned to Agent Coulson. "I suggest we try to figure out how exactly Loki broke out of your 'inescapable' prison."  
"We do not know." Thor said. "All that we know is that he did not do it alone."  
Coulson and Fury stared at him. "Loki could not have done it without assistance. Part of his prison cell contained an enchantment that prevented the use of magic, therefore making escape impossible."  
"So someone helped him." Couslon concluded. Thor nodded.  
"Just before Loki fled from Asgard I was able to stall them for a brief time."  
"So you were able to get a look at his hunchman?"  
"Woman would be more precise."  
"A _woman?_"  
"That's irrelevant." Fury stated. "But do you have any idea who she is?"  
Thor shook his head.  
"She is not of Asgard and from the power she used during their escape she is not from Earth either."  
"Power? What kind of power?"  
"Two of our guards were killed, frozen. A third was affected by a potent sleep elixir. She was also able to hold back the destroyer, which only the greatest of warriors can accomplish."  
"Wait a minute!" Fury remembered something, he approached Thor. "An elixir?"  
"Yes."  
"As in a potion?"  
"Yes…" Thor replied, unsure where Fury was headed.  
"Can you give us a description?"  
"I'm sorry?"  
"THE WOMAN. Can you describe her?"  
Thor's brows furrowed.  
"I… do not believe… I-"  
"Tall?"  
"Yes…"  
"Black hair? Blue eyes?"  
"Well, yes. How did you-"  
"Attractive?"  
"Quite."  
"Follow me." Fury then turned on his heel and walked out the door. Thor and Coulson looked at each other, neither of them understood what Fury could be going on about. Despite that, they followed the director in silence. Their journey took them to the control center of the ship, the conference room with its many screens and all-too-familiar round table. Fury had his back to them as he gazed into a dead monitor. The man and the demi-god stood behind him.  
"Agent Coulson," Fury began, "When Loki attacked the airship, as you remember, you had your… unfortunate… accident."  
"It wasn't an accident – it was murder." Thor grumbled.  
"_Regardless_, what occurred on the brig is common knowledge. However…" The screen flickered – turning from a black to the infamous blue screen of death. "I would have preferred keeping this information confidential. The fact of the matter is, Coulson, we did not tell you everything about what happened."  
"_What?_" Coulson stammered.  
"As this is an official term of base for SHEILD, we have complete security fixtures throughout the entire airship. Motion detectors, heat sensors security doors and sound monitors to prevent people from getting IN, as well as key cards, retinal scans and passcodes to prevent people from going into things they shouldn't. One thing we do have, above else, are security cameras." The screens flickered again, several small pictures came up, all over the airship: control room, engines, corridors, and…  
"The containment unit cameras."  
"In that sector of the ship we have over a dozen lenses, one of them showed a certain inconsistency that is of a certain interest." He turned to a keyboard to his left and began typing, several moments passed, and a new image came onto the large screens. The sound was off, but the clear image of Coulson on the ground, a circular blood stain on his shirt, was enough to get his heart racing. Fury came into the frame and kneeled in front of him. They exchanged what were their last words. "Now watch closely."  
Just as he said it, the Fury on the screen stood up and moved to the left. The camera, being almost at waist height and clearly damaged, gave a clear view of the corridor behind Coulson's body. The glass door that gave a perfect reflection of the scene – Fury's body hid Coulson's reflection from view.  
"What are we looking for?" Coulson asked.  
The image of Fury had a phone to his ear, turning away from the body he took a few steps back. Then it hit them. "What the HELL?"  
Incased in the reflection, standing next to Coulson's lifeless body was a woman. She looked down on the corpse, every feature filled with despair. Fury's back was to the visitor, who kneeled before the cadaver. Her pale blue dress folded lightly on the floor and in her hands was a small, round vial filled with a glowing golden liquid. She popped the cork, shifting her weight so she could hold the potion over the body. Very carefully, she tipped the liquid – three drops. They fell into the wound in its chest. The vial was raised, moved over its face. A gentle hand lay against its cheek, the strange liquid fell upon its mouth – until the vial was empty. The woman stood up once more, watching the body as a yellow light radiated from its chest, fading away almost immediately.  
A small smile appeared on her face. At the edge of the screen, Fury placed his phone back into his pocket. He walked between the mirror and the camera, passing through the view – and she disappeared.  
"What the hell?" Coulson whispered.


End file.
